What Happened Over the Weekend

Israeli airstrikes on Damascus and Homs, the SDF conducts business with companies under sanctions and arrests ISIS leaders in al-Hassakeh. Catch up on everything that happened over the weekend.

Israeli airstrikes on Syria killed four pro-Iranian fighters allied to the Damascus regime, a Britain-based war monitor said Friday. According to the AFP, Syrian state media earlier said its air defense system engaged “hostile targets” over the capital Damascus late on Thursday.

Nasrallah: U.S. Forces Looting Syria, Should Leave

Hassan Nasrallah called the U.S. claims of fighting ISIS in Syria a lie, accusing the ‘occupation forces’ of looting the country, the Syria Times writes.

The Secretary-General of the Lebanese Hezbollah Resistance Movement Hassan Nasrallah has affirmed that the U.S claims about fighting ISIS in Syria are false and flimsy, as they are nothing but a pretext to stay in the region and strengthen this terror organization to use it in different areas for Washington’s own political agenda.

Opposition Discusses Situation in Daraa with Central Committee

The President of the opposition held a virtual meeting with the Central Committee and revolutionary forces in southern Syria to discuss the situation in Daraa, according to the SOC.

The President of the Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC), Salem al-Meslet, held a virtual meeting with representatives of the Central Committee and revolutionary forces in southern Syria to discuss the situation in Daraa.

Coalition Strengthens Presence in al-Tanf and Training for Maghawir al-Thawra

The global coalition to defeat ISIS, which is led by the U.S., is intensifying its presence in the al-Tanf area and training an allied militia, according to al-Soruai Net.

The Tanf military base in Syria is witnessing intensive training by the U.S.-backed international coalition for the Syrian factions present there, represented by Maghawir al-Thawra (Revolutionary Commandos Army).

Warlord Dostum back in the fray as Taliban overwhelm Afghan north

The scene was a familiar one as warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum jetted into northern Afghanistan this week — a promise of bloodshed and vengeance, and no apology for his vicious past.

Despite a series of war crimes linked to his forces, the Afghan government is hoping Dostum’s military acumen and seething hatred of the Taliban can help beat back the current insurgent offensive.

Top anti-Taliban rebel pins his hopes on France

Massoud’s father may be a household name, but that’s no guarantee Macron will arm guerrillas in the Panjshir Valley.

America may have abandoned Afghanistan, but the most prominent anti-Taliban rebel in the country is pinning his hopes on support from France.

For Ahmad Massoud, France is the most natural place to turn as he tries to marshal a resistance army in the Panjshir Valley north of Kabul. After all, his father, Ahmad Shah Massoud, the “Lion of the Panjshir” is close to a household name in France and lives on (after his assassination in 2001) as the country’s epitome of a freedom fighter thanks to his battles against the Soviets and Taliban in the 1980s and 1990s.

Afghan holdout will struggle against Taliban assault, say analysts

The Panjshir Valley north of Afghanistan’s capital Kabul is the final major centre of resistance to the Taliban, but analysts say the fighters gathered there will struggle if the Islamist hardliners launch a full-scale attack.

Surrounded by the high peaks of the Hindu Kush north of Kabul, the Panjshir has long had a reputation as a bastion of resistance — legendary military commander Ahmad Shah Massoud successfully defended it during the Soviet-Afghan War and the civil war with the Taliban up to his death in 2001.

Afghanistan Debacle Could Preview Biden’s Dealings With China – OpEd

With desperate Afghans clinging to departing American airplanes, the fall of Afghanistan is being compared to the American evacuation of Saigon in 1975. The Taliban takeover may also preview how President Joe Biden would handle a military confrontation with China, perhaps over Taiwan.

As vice president, Biden got control of China policy through the work of longtime Democrat activist Thomas Donilon. Despite a questionable record as a lobbyist with Fannie Mae, then President Obama picked Donilon for national security adviser, which even troubled leftist writers such as Robert Scheer of Truthdig.

Welcome Home? Islamic State Returnees Test Balkan Countries’ Ability To Reintegrate – Analysis

The recent repatriation of families of ISIS fighters to Kosovo, Albania and North Macedonia poses a tough challenge to all three countries to rehabilitate them back into society.

By Fjori Sinoruka, Xhorxhina Bami and Sinisa Jakov Marusic*

On July 18, North Macedonia announced that it had repatriated 23 of its citizens who had spent the last few years on the battlefields in Syria and Iraq and been one-time members of Islamic State, ISIS.